Self Propelled Howitzers (SPH).
Self Propelled Howitzers (SPH) or S'elf Propelled Guns' (SPG) s a form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern use is usually used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers. Self-propelled guns are mounted on a motorized wheeled or tracked chassis (because of this they are sometimes visually similar to tanks). As such the gun can be maneuvered under its own power as opposed to a towed gun that relies upon a vehicle or other means to be moved on the battlefield. Self-propelled guns are combat support weapons; they are employed by combat support units fighting in support of, or attached to, the main combat units: infantry and armour (tanks). Self-propelled guns are best at providing indirect fire but can give direct fire when needed. It may be armoured, in which case it is considered an armoured fighting vehicle (AFV). Typically, self-propelled guns are more lightly armoured and may not have turrets and their purpose is distinct from that of tanks. The greatest tactical advantage in the case of artillery guns is clearly the greater degree of mobility they have compared to towed artillery. Not only is it important in offering military forces greater flexibility, but it is critical in avoiding attack from the enemy (counter-battery fire) by allowing the guns to change position immediately after firing one or more salvos and before their position can be located ("shoot-and-scoot" tactics). A secondary advantage in the case of – even lightly – armoured guns is the increased protection offered to the gun crews. The first attempts to give artillery a greater degree of manoeuvrability was in World War I. Although mechanical tractors had been used to tow some artillery, most were still towed by horses. The Gun Carrier Mark I was an artillery piece that was transported by and could be fired from a tracked chassis. Between the wars, in the development of their armoured warfare tactics, the British put the Birch gun into limited use. It carried an 18 pounder gun on a chassis derived from their then medium tank and as such was able to keep up and cross the same ground as the tanks it was intended to support. As well as use as a field gun, the gun could be elevated sufficiently for use against aircraft. Self-propelled guns and howitzers are used in the same way as their towed variety, generally for long-range bombardment. Self-propelled artillery can however also include other types of weapons not considered a self-propelled gun, one example of which would be rocket artillery. Self-propelled guns (also known as artillery,SPGs,arty) are fragile armored vehicles which provide indirect fire support from a long distance. They are represented by a green or red square on the mini-map and over their respective target marker. Artillery are the most unique class of armored vehicles in the game, sharing very few characteristics with the other four classes. Artillery's most distinguishing feature is its ability to aim and shoot over terrain and other obstacles. Unlike the other four classes, SPGs do not get a "sniper" mode. Instead, by pressing left shift, the player enters a birds-eye view which allows them to look at a limited area of any chosen part of the map. Using this view, artillery can aim at enemy targets over terrain and structures (depending on the size of the structure, the trajectory of the shell, and the range of the artillery's gun). Artillery generally have the most powerful, highest caliber guns for their tier. Unlike most tanks and tank destroyers, artillery fire high-explosive (HE) shells as their primary form of ammunition. This type of shell explodes on impact and does not need to penetrate a vehicle's armor to do damage. The explosion of a large HE shell can also deal splash damage to nearby targets (both allies and enemies) who aren't hit directly. These advantages do come at a price, however. Artillery guns usually have long reload times, poor accuracy, and are very slow to aim. Artillery cannot quickly change targets or follow fast-moving enemies without a considerable accuracy penalty. Like many tank destroyers, most artillery have limited-traverse guns mounted in their hull (although a few do get slow-turning turrets). Turning beyond a hull-mounted gun's maximum traverse range requires turning the vehicle's hull, which results in concealment and accuracy penalties. In addition, artillery are also the most fragile class of vehicles in the game. Artillery can only withstand a few hits from even the smallest of enemy guns, and their high aim times and long reload times make it difficult for them to defend themselves against close-range attackers. Artillery are glass cannons; they are best played far behind the front lines attacking targets that allied tanks may have difficulty damaging (usually heavy tanks, snipers, and opportunity targets). It is important for artillery to position themselves in an area where they can make a meaningful contribution to the game with their attacks, but are still stay safe from enemy scouts and spotters. Artillery are almost purely a support class, and rely heavily on allied vehicles to spot and distract targets for them. It is important for artillery players to keep track of the map and re-position to safer areas when necessary. If re-positioning is not possible, an artillery can attempt to defend itself by using ambush tactics to surprise-attack enemies at point-blank range. Since 2018 patches however, they have become the hardest class to rank high in team damage and to level as credits and xp gains are among the slowest in the game. While all artillery must play as behind-the-lines vehicles giving support fire, there is some variety within the class. Some, such as the S-51 are capable of doing huge amounts of damage in one shot, but have extremely long reload times, and require special patience not to waste the few shots they can take. Others, such a the FV304 and many French artillery, fire very quickly but have little to no splash radius and do very little damage. Beyond this, there are a whole host of other factors which differentiate artillery, such as shell velocity, shell trajectory, and mobility, all of which contribute to the different strengths and weaknesses of each vehicle. Since patch 9.18, the role of artillery has changed. The alpha damage has been reduced, along with worse accuracy, but the ability to "stun" enemy tanks, temporarily reducing their effectiveness while increasing their splash.